Londoners might remember the ill-fated Shumi in St James which tried to introduce us to the joys of an Italian-Japanese fusion cuisine but only lasted 18 months, helped towards its demise by a slew of bad reviews. Almost a decade later, another restaurateur is attempting the same fusion cusine with Beiriso which is about to open in Holborn.
The name for the restaurant comes from the word for rice from Japan and Italy. They're going to be serving up a mix of traditional and more creative fusion dishes with an eye to healthy and calorie-counting.
From the pizza oven you'll get freshly baked focaccias and calzones, while traditional sushi will be a fusion of fresh Italian ingredients and traditional sweet sushi rice delicately put together by staff throughout the day. From a quick look at the menu that means dishes like Med sushi (aubergine, courgette & avocado sushi) and an Italian salmon box which consists of salmon fillet, sushi rice, capers, chives, green beans, salmon & aubergine sushi, sesame seeds and pink ginger.
The all-day restaurant opens early with Italian coffee, gluten-free porridge and other breakfast options available. And there'll be inside and outside seating as well as takeaway.
"Italian and Japanese are two of the nation’s favourite cuisines," says the restaurant's founder Roya Latif. "We believed combining the two would make for a tasty and interesting mix."
Beiriso opens on 17 December at Unit 5, Eagle House, 2 – 22 Procter Street, London WC1V 6NX. Opening hours will be 6.30am – 6pm Monday to Friday.
They'll be running an introductory offer of free coffee with every breakfast item purchased and 30% off lunch items after 2pm throughout December and January. Keep up with their news on Twitter @BeirisoLondon
